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One of the reasons Dubai is popular with Euro-travelers is the beautiful beaches & amazing shopping. Although the waters are gorgeous & the sand is beautiful, I can't really imagine anything enjoyable about hanging out in 110 degree weather. You know it's hot when it's too hot to go to the beach!
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We drove down to the Burj al Arab hotel- the most famous hotel in Dubai that resembles the sail and it ultra-luxury.
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After our tour of the Fort, we took a water taxi across Dubai Creek to reach the Souqs (markets). Normally 20-30 people would hop on each of these and pay 1D, but our guide required we take a private ride about 100 yards down the river to the other side.
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The water was so clean & blue (at least compared to most city rivers/canals) & the waterfront was a bustling place with lots of activity.
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Being on the Arabian Gulf, fishing and pearl diving were two popular trades before the oil and investment markets took over Dubai.
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I really enjoy checking out different countries markets. I think it's a great way to experience a little bit of local culture. I'm still amazed that life works this way & I imagine they'd be surprised if they came to tour our Walmarts.
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This reminded me I need to work on my cooking- there are so many things to add to food besides salt & pepper! :) I loved all the smells and colors and textures that were available.
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We're such sheltered, city-people and saw many things we'd never seen before- such at that blue stuff is indigo.
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There were beautiful little mosques tucked into the city that were a great surprise to find on our journey.
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After the spice souq, we headed over to the gold souq. As a major trading port between Asia and Europe, Dubai developed quite an extensive gold collection.
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These displays are just a few of the hundreds that we saw, each with different bracelets, earrings, necklaces and gold belts.
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We were told that for some of the more expensive pieces, people would negotiate for days over the final price. I HATE negotiating, and I'm horrible at it!
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Our half-day city tour ended here, but our guide was kind enough to drop us off at the Mall of the Emirate, a gigantic mall for sure, but nothing compared to the Dubai Mall.
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We wanted to grab lunch, see the indoor ski slopes and pick up an adaptor for our laptop.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: All caught up visiting with my mom & H's mom, and now a day to catch up on our house chores.
2 comments:
Beautiful beaches, but yeah 110 is way too hot to enjoy it.
Cool water taxis.
Amazing gold!
Awesome indoor ski slope.
no shutup christy i like the od transport
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